Swift’s New Video Illustrates the “Delicate” Nature of Fame

At one point or another, everyone thinks about what it would be like to be famous. In Taylor Swift’s new music video for “Delicate” off her latest album reputation, however, she’s wondering what it would be like to be just the opposite. “Delicate” is about Swift finding a guy who loves her for who she is—minus the celebrity status—and this is reflected in the music video as she tears down her fake celebrity façade and sings, “My reputation’s never been worse so / You must like me for me.”

Swift seems dead inside at the beginning of the video, living the stereotypical life of a celebrity and flashing fake smiles at the paparazzi. This part includes a stylistic routine in which her bodyguards box her in, matching her every step, and she realizes that she can’t do anything with true freedom.

As Swift stares at her reflection in the bathroom, though, she concludes that if she gives up on her fake image and acts like her true self, nobody notices her. She goes on to dance on the subway and be invisible to the limelight, and she leaps around an alleyway in the rain before stepping into a dive bar to meet up with the aforementioned guy.

Her dancing isn’t amazing, but it’s not too bad considering she’s primarily a singer, not a dancer. The video, directed by Joseph Kahn, features clever scenes and captivating camera angles that capture the essence of what Swift is saying with her music.